Moving around

The weather has been disappointing me lately, reminding me of my last time in London, with one small exception - it rains more here. Despite the weather I try to keep myself busy by visiting all interesting places near Merida.

I started with the Hot Springs of La Musuy. Two hours bus drive and another two hours of climbing the Andes and there we are - about 3000 meters above the sea level, where you can touch the clouds. I have never been a huge fan of mountain hiking and other highly exhausting endeavors, but a long and relaxing bath in the aguas termales made me forget all the soreness of getting there. The temperature of the water is high enough to feel very comfortable and some visitors, who choose overnight stay, sometimes decide to spend the night in the water. It is not quite a bad idea since the temperature of the water stays at 35 degrees Celsius and the air temperature drops to maybe 5 degrees Celcius during the night. My friends and I also decided to spend the night up in the mountains (no, not in the water). The sunset I experienced there was truly one of those you live for.

Another place I had a chance to visit was the Cistercian monastery famous for its cafe plantation. For me, a natural born cafe lover, this was like a trip to El Dorado. Again, it was not easy to get there. It was located beyond the regular communication routes up in the mountains, and the only way to avoid 5 hours of walking was to catch a ride with some locals - something very common here in Venezuela. The problem was that there were not a lot of cars passing, but we couldn't complain when the first available transportation appeared. I found my spot in the back of the track hanging tight to a rope, knowing that if I fell during the ride it will be probably 1000 meters down.

Merida means Andes, but only an hour away we can find a completely different world. El Vigia differs from Merida in every aspect: climate - you want to say this is Venezuela, hot, humid with rain forest looking flora around; architecture - houses, whose main function appears to be protecting inhabitants from the rain; and people - more traditional, more Venezuelan I would say. Merida is quite a modern, urbanized place. El Vigia is not. I remember feeling embarased when the family I stayed with in El Vigia told me there was actually no hot water system in the house. Who would need it in the hot weather of El Vigia...? Despite the cold shower inconvinience my El Vigia visit was the warmest. I think there is the truth to the belief that those who have the least, tend to give the most.